I realize this may be premature, but I want to hear opinions on this. I would definitely not follow the team if they moved, and would most likely be a half-assed Steelers fan due to the number of rabid family members I have that are deeply rooted to the team and the Pittsburgh area. What say you?

If you're not from South Florida, you wouldn't understand the mindset we have down here about this ordeal.

I've lived in South Florida at one point in my life... and I'm not going to turn my back on a team I've supported for my entire life just because their location has changed. Sure, it'll be a bummer... I'm not in support of it at all... but I would stil root for them..

Not being from Miami makes it easier to say I'd root for them. If I was from Miami, I'm not sure.

If it turns out to be a Cleveland Browns scenario, I'd probably have a soft spot for the LA whatevers for a while, but I'd go back to the Miami Dolphins when they returned. I'm a fan of the helmet, not the players.

Honestly though, it would never be the same. I'd never have a team that I would care nearly as much about as I do this one.

I'm on the fence on this. I said I would continue to support the Dolphins, and I probably would. If they changed their name, logo and all then I'd be less likely to. I live in Ravens country and might follow them more, but honestly I think I'd probably be scarred for life as a football fan, much as many Baltimore fans were after the Colts left.

First off..........I put the chance of the Phins moving at about 1 in 1,000. Furthermore, I think the stadium upgrades will get done in the next few years.......hopefully, the economy will continue to improve and the team will become a solid contender. Considering the Phins have been a losing franchise for the past 10 years and the negative public sentiment over the Marlins' stadium, it's easy to understand why South Florida Residents are against allocating more public funds.

Here's an idea..........produce a consistent winning team......fill the seats.......increased demand yields increased revenue. Demonstrate to the people of South Florida you have a plan that works.

Playing Devil's Advocate, I may support them, but it would depend on where they moved. Could you imagine cheering for the New Jersey Dolphins.......ARGHHH. But I wouldn't have a big issue, if they stayed in the SouthEast.

I would stop being a Dolphins fan if they moved. I used to be a Colts fan until they moved out of Baltimore where I lived when they won their first Super Bowl in 70. I moved to Key West that summer and became a Dolphins fan, too. Now, I am just a Dolphins fan.

I'm a Virginia Dolphins fan. I'd absolutely hate it if they Fins moved, but I had to vote yes.

I surely couldn't make myself all of a sudden pull for another team (we can't choose who we love, right?). And I definitely couldn't stop watching football. My guess is I'd probably start following my Hokies a lot more closely, and the NFL just wouldn't mean as much to me....

I would stick with the Dolphins only because I don't have the home town ties that some of you do. I grew up as a Navy brat and never lived in any one place for more than three years until I was 16. I started being a Dolphin fan since they played in the first football game I saw. They were playing the Jets and even at 10 years old, I was smart enough not to pick the Jets.

I imagine that if I grew up in Miami and the Dolphins moved, I would stop following them.

Since I live in Minnesota, if the Fins moved, I'd just as likely go for another team like the Vikings, Packers, or Seahawks. Then again, it would depend on which city they moved to. I'm not a fan of LA for anything, so that would probably turn me off to cheering for them. If they changed the team name, there is no way I would cheer them on.

I was born in Miami and lived there until I was 13. If the Dolphins moved from Miami they would cease being the Miami Dolphins and I would become a Buc's fan as I have lived near Tampa for the last 34 years. I would be very upset if the Dolphins moved.

Between the NFL, politicians, and the Fins, I don't know anymore. I don't really know if I really care about football anymore. I mean it's fun, and something to do, but I really don't care, don't know.

As someone from Iowa, I don't have any hometown ties to the Dolphins, but I've been watching them for more than 20 years now. They're the Miami Dolphins, and they always will be the Miami Dolphins to me. If they were to move to another city, they would cease to be the same franchise and I don't think I would be a fan anymore.

it's easy to understand why South Florida Residents are against allocating more public funds.

We don't even know if that's the case since we didn't get to vote on it... because of one politician.

Either way, it isn't South Florida residents who would have had to bear the brunt of the new tax: it would have been tourists, most of whom are in Miami to do something other than go to a Dolphins game. A public vote would have been nothing more than South Florida residents deciding whether they should be able to take money from not South Florida residents in order to improve a local landmark. Why is it their responsibility to float close to $200M to a billionaire so he can upgrade his stadium, and then take the profit off of the investment when he sells?

If he wants to renovate Sun Life, he should pay for it himself.

_________________A good RB is nice, a good QB even better, but it's best to be able to stop someone first.

I was born and raised in Miami and lived there until I was 26. My youth was Miami Vice and the Dolphins with Marino at the helm. No other team has anything to offer me, and I won't root for the closest team to me now (Cincinnati).

I might still be a fan of football and watch on Sundays much like I've been forced to do during the playoffs, which is to say that I'd look for good games and root for good football, not a specific team. That said, I would still hate the Jets, which is to say that my favorite team would be that which played the Jets on a weekly basis.

_________________A good RB is nice, a good QB even better, but it's best to be able to stop someone first.

if they're still called the Dolphins then I'm definitely staying a fan. Most Ram fans stayed Ram fans when they moved from LA to STL. Not that big a difference to me. But I love saying "Miami" Dolphins.

A public vote would have been nothing more than South Florida residents deciding whether they should be able to take money from not South Florida residents in order to improve a local landmark. Why is it their responsibility to float close to $200M to a billionaire so he can upgrade his stadium, and then take the profit off of the investment when he sells?

That doesn't mean the residents of South Florida shouldn't have the right to vote on an issue that affects their community.

They have a right to decide if they want to charge tourists more to invest in a stadium. It's called democracy.

If tourists don't like it, they have plenty of other places to go vacation (and pay higher taxes than they would here, even with the additional bed tax).

The residents of South Florida should have the opportunity to decide their future, not some politician from Tampa (what a coincidence!). If their decision is to bleed tourists and kill the tourism industry, then that's their decision and they can suffer the consequences.

This isn't about what is right or wrong for the tourists or the residents of South Florida. It's about letting them make the choice to be right or wrong. That's what freedom is about.

Taking that away because you're a Tampa politician getting sponsored by Norman Brahman is taking a freedom away and giving too much influence to one man.

Quote:

If he wants to renovate Sun Life, he should pay for it himself.

Agreed, but as a business owner, if his investment is going to bring millions of dollars to the South Florida economy, then there is nothing wrong with asking members of that community for help.

If I were a business owner, I'd try to keep my costs down as much as possible and find others to share in that cost since they benefit from the investment.

I agree with Rich, we should have had the chance to vote on it. I was torn my brain says no way he has the money, my heart says vote yes it's my Dolphins. One plus for Ross is that he buys up tickets so we don't have black outs like Jacksonville and San Diego, so he does give back to us.

Rich wrote:

eleaf wrote:

A public vote would have been nothing more than South Florida residents deciding whether they should be able to take money from not South Florida residents in order to improve a local landmark. Why is it their responsibility to float close to $200M to a billionaire so he can upgrade his stadium, and then take the profit off of the investment when he sells?

That doesn't mean the residents of South Florida shouldn't have the right to vote on an issue that affects their community.

They have a right to decide if they want to charge tourists more to invest in a stadium. It's called democracy.

If tourists don't like it, they have plenty of other places to go vacation (and pay higher taxes than they would here, even with the additional bed tax).

The residents of South Florida should have the opportunity to decide their future, not some politician from Tampa (what a coincidence!). If their decision is to bleed tourists and kill the tourism industry, then that's their decision and they can suffer the consequences.

This isn't about what is right or wrong for the tourists or the residents of South Florida. It's about letting them make the choice to be right or wrong. That's what freedom is about.

Taking that away because you're a Tampa politician getting sponsored by Norman Brahman is taking a freedom away and giving too much influence to one man.

Quote:

If he wants to renovate Sun Life, he should pay for it himself.

Agreed, but as a business owner, if his investment is going to bring millions of dollars to the South Florida economy, then there is nothing wrong with asking members of that community for help.

If I were a business owner, I'd try to keep my costs down as much as possible and find others to share in that cost since they benefit from the investment.

As a native born and raised in Miami I would say no. Ive been a die hard fins fan since the glory days of early 70's. We used to camp out in front of the Orange bowl for tickets. I don't think my heart would let me back them up in L.A.

I voted yes, but there are some variables that could change my vote. I grew up and live in the mountains of Virginia and the "foreskins" have been the "home" team here. I could never root for them. I started rooting for Miami after their superbowl victories and before the Marino era, they are the only NFL team that I live and breathe. If they moved to a warm weather city on the water I could still pull for them but only if they were still the Dolphins. But I don't know what I would do if they moved and then Miami got another franchise.